INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY RECAP | Portland Timbers 2: 4, FC St. Pauli: 2

PORTLAND, Ore. – After playing to a 2-2 draw through regulation, T2 defeated FC St. Pauli 4-2 on penalty kicks in an international friendly at Providence Park on Tuesday night. Forward Augustine Williams registered a second-half brace to help T2 overcome a two-goal deficit.

First-team presence
Eleven Portland Timbers players appeared for T2 in the friendly. Midfielder David Guzmán started and played 63 minutes, while midfielders Andrés Flores and Lawrence Olum and defender Marco Farfan each made their first appearances in 2018 for T2.

T2 in international friendlies
Tuesday marked the second international friendly for T2 at Providence Park. In their last international friendly match, T2 defeated Newcastle United 4-3 at Providence Park on July 21, 2015.

Key plays
FC St. Pauli took the lead early on when forward Sami Allagui curled his shot from the left edge of the penalty area into the far corner of the net in the fourth minute.

Holding an 18-8 shot advantage in the match, T2 threatened early when forward Dairon Asprilla’s shot from just outside the 18-yard box was saved by FC St. Pauli goalkeeper Robin Himmelmann in the 12th minute. Three minutes later, Asprilla’s low shot from the edge of the box was collected by Himmelmann.

Continuing to apply pressure, midfielder Victor Arboleda’s strike from outside the penalty area was caught by Himmelmann in the 19th minute. T2 nearly scored in the 25th minute after Arboleda skipped past two defenders on the left endline, sending his cross to Asprilla, whose powerful header was fired off the crossbar. In the 35th minute, Asprilla was on the receiving end of Guzman’s corner-kick service, but his header flashed over the crossbar. Three minutes later, Arboleda sped by his defender down the right edge of the penalty area, but his spinning, toe-poked shot was saved by the St. Pauli goalkeeper.

Just before halftime, Olum’s low shot from the edge of the box was saved by Himmelmann in the 43rd minute.

In the 68th minute, second-half substitute Marvin Loría’s cross into the box found Williams, whose strong header was saved by Philipp Heerwagen.

T2 cut into St. Pauli’s lead following a set-piece play in the 72nd minute. After Loría’s corner-kick service bounced to second-half substitute Foster Langsdorf on the right edge of the box, Langsdorf picked out Williams at the back post, where he headed into the empty net.

Portland leveled the match when Williams raced past his marker on the right wing, firing a powerful shot past Heerwagen at his near post in the 81st minute.

After the match ended 2-2 in regulation, Pack saved FC St. Pauli midfielder Waldemer Sobota’s penalty attempt, before T2 midfielder Renzo Zambrano laced his shot into the roof of the net to seal the 4-2 shootout victory.

Next Game
Next up, T2 will host Real Monarchs SLC in USL play at Providence Park on Saturday, May 26. Beginning at 2 p.m. (Pacific), the match against Real Monarchs will be streamed live on ESPN+.